Dana-Lyn Mackenzie

Dana-Lyn Mackenzie is a compassionate and determined lawyer who is there for her clients every step of the way through the legal process. An excellent listener, she approaches each case with empathy and consideration.

Dana-Lyn’s main areas of focus are criminal law and Aboriginal law. Outside of these areas, she handles Immediate Roadside Prohibitions and employment law matters, including wrongful termination. She is also able to help clients to draft wills and plan their estates.

Dana-Lyn, who is a member of the Hwlitsum First Nation, has a well-versed knowledge of indigenous people and the law. She has a variety of legal experience, both as a lawyer and as an administrator in law schools. She worked as a lawyer at the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic which provides legal services to the Indigenous community. She has appeared in First Nations Courts and has expertise in Gladue-informed sentencing.

She articled and worked for the Department of Justice at its B.C. regional office, gaining experience in tax law, Aboriginal law, public prosecutions including drug treatment court and environmental law, before practicing in the area of mutual legal assistance treaties and extradition. She was the director of student services and engagement at the Schulich School of Law. Dana-Lyn has also been an associate director of the Indigenous Legal Studies program at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC, where she won a President’s Staff Award for advancing diversity and inclusion.

Dana-Lyn is a graduate of the Peter A. Allard School of Law and was called to the bar in 2012. During her time as a law student there she won a Remarkable Woman Award. Before law school, she studied Art History at UBC and she also has a diploma in Fine Arts from Langara College.

She has volunteered as a Girl Guide leader and was an executive member of the Aboriginal Lawyers Forum. She was also a coach at the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot for nine years.

In her spare time, Dana-Lyn likes painting and spending time with her husband, children and dogs.